Customer Reviews

24 Hour Revenge Therapy

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I always knew that this album would eventually become iconic. Most of you seem to think it was always that way. However as someone who lived in the Bay Area at the time and saw many of the shows supporting this album, I know what a struggle it was for Blake and crew. When this came out, it was clear that Jawbreaker was undertaking a transition from being a pure punk band to being what at the time was classified as pop-punk (and now seems to fall neatly into emo or pre-emo depending who you ask). Well there were the constant shouts from the audience of "sellout" and "has-beens". That was very unfortunate as this should have been a time of celebration for Bay Area punk. Instead it seemed as if the guys were happy to get away from home and the pressure of the microscope; they often appeared bitter and embattled. If you don't think this is true then relisten to the lyrics when he says "You're not punk and I'm telling everyone - save your breath I never was one - you don't know what I'm all about"; This was clearly a shot at the band's old school following who felt betrayed. Anyway enough of the history lesson, but someone has to tell it the way it actually was.

The reason the album is now considered so influential is simple - it's excellent and it's unique. Blake's voice is different than any I can recall, while his vocals are simple and direct but reveal deeper truths and emotions... hey, that's a pretty good model for emo isn't it? The guitar and bass are driving and forceful but contain enough subtle nuance to allow for a mental scope greater than straight punk. While many bands have cloned the ebb 'n flow style Jawbreaker did it without sounding like some type of Linkin Park cliche. "Condition Oakland" and "Ashtray monument" are perfect examples of this. JB also had the ability to write fun music as the uptempo "Indictment" shows. Oddly he also seems to spar with his potential audience here too... "our enemies will laugh and be pointin'". There really are no bad songs on this and your favorites will evolve and rotate as should be the case with any great album. To the person who asks why more people don't refer to "Dear You", it's because that album is OK but stinks by comparison... they compromised to much. You can debate whether Blake remedied that in Jets to Brazil all you want, but there's a reason DY was the end of JB.

I picked this CD up about 6 years ago, and could never have anticapted then that I would still be playing it regularly today(atleast once a week). This is one of the greatest CDs ever released, full of emotion, full of power. The CD is a literal roller coaster ride, starting out happy and explorative, then shifts to moody and sulking, only to shift again at the end of the CD with promising hope and the felling of resolution. Blake Schwarzenbach is amazing, and fans of the album should also check out his work on Dear You (a very under appreciated album) and his new band Jets to Brazil. An amazing album that has survived the test of time.

This album is one of the most pure things you will ever hear across all genres of music. It comes out swinging like Mike Tyson circa 1986 and doesn't let up. The playing is top notch and vicious and the lyrics are razor sharp. There are no tricks, the band played most of these songs live and they sounded exactly the same. Hard to believe Jawbreaker was this good, but this proves it. If someone told you about them and you're thinking of buying something, start with this because it's their best; you'll be back soon enough.

Jawbreaker were a punk band. They bear the same likeness to "emo" as Michael Vick shares with "nice person." Please stop including that disposable no-value label around on a genuine punk band. And this album is a classic.

I've listened to this album (and band) on a regular basis since I was 15 ... I'm almost 27. This album is classic in every sense. I know every drum fill and lyric. That's how catchy it is!

It amazes me how Jawbreaker was able to pull off short, catchy songs like "Indictment" and "Boxcar" and then add a meandering, melodic tune like "Condition Oakland" ... I remember listening to the latter tune as I took the BART over Oakland once, in high school. It was the perfect soundtrack!

It sounds bad, I know, but I think Blake's vocals were way better before he had throat surgery. DEAR YOU and Jets To Brazil just don't capture me the same way as when he sounded like he was struggling in agony to get the next lyric out.

Sorry Blake!

And thank you.

Simply put, this is the best indie rock record released in the 90s. Never mind "Nevermind" (not indie) and all the ephemeral grunge and punk that got the radio play. Jawbreaker ruled this decade for the true fans of emotional, intelligent post-punk music. Blake S., a master songwriter who penned the greatest punk love song of all time "Chesterfield Kings," played straight from his always-broken heart, but never once sounded defeated or weak. Their three-man attack on "Revenge Therapy" was pure, sparkling power driven by their trademark melodic distortion, crisp drums and Blake's commanding rasp. Every song on this CD is outstanding. It is a masterpiece, full of small stories of normal people doing normal things, just searching for a bit of happiness while dealing with loss, love and every day frustrations. "Do you still hate me?" and "Jinx Removing" are my faves, while lead-off "Boat on a Hill" always makes me a bit weepy while still filling me with hope and deep-seated satisfaction.

This album is just a pop-punk/emp gem. Every songs is almost perfect. The second best album after Dear You. This is the album Jawbreaker begginers should get.

One day I got in an argument with some acquaintances about the best record ever made. My main opponent claimed it was "Tim" by the Replacements. No disrespect to the 'Mats, but "Let It Be" smokes "Tim", and well, "24 Hour Revenge Therapy" eats "Let It Be" for an Oakland warehouse brunch. While former frontman (and current Jets to Brazil honcho) Blake Schwarzenbach has branched out as of late--most notably with 2000's shining "Four Cornered Night", "Revenge Therapy" stands as a testament to the true genius of the punk rock formula. The guitars sound as if they're about to lose their strings, Pfahler's legendary thwack was at its best, and Bauermeister clatters down the tracks on a Fender Precision rampage. This record absolutely defined my late teens and early twenties. I don't listen to it as often as I used to (which would often be literally for a week straight), but it stands in my mind as the best thing I've ever heard. As much as I like Horace Pinker and adore J Church, only Schwarzenbach's "Four Cornered Night" even comes close to matching this disc's brilliance. Lyrically, it's a document of a Bay Area that doesn't even really exist anymore, but as a record of life's twists and turns in one's early-to-mid twenties, it stands head and shoulders above anything ever recorded by anyone.

well, maybe I wouldn't go that far, but Jawbreaker is my favorite band and this is my favorite Jawbreaker album...so maybe this review is biased. But really, these are Blake's best lyrics and the interaction between the lyrical content and the music is awesome. The bridge during "West Bay Invitational", the beginning of "Do You Still Hate Me" and the end of "Condition Oakland" are some of the best moments in the history of rock & roll...well, in my opinion. This album has been very important in my life.

The first Jawbreaker song I ever heard was "Chesterfield King", when it was covered (very well, I think) by Face to Face on their new album. I immediately went out to my local store to find Bivouac....they didn't have a copy on hand, so I picked up the only Jawbreaker CD they had, '24 Hour Revenge Therapy'. I was totally blown away. From the opening notes of 'Boat Dreams On A Hill', to the humorous (I thought) 'Boxcar', all the way through to the end of the album, I found myself wanting to listen to each song again and again before I went to the next. I have now owned this CD for three weeks, and I listen to it every day. The song 'Ache' is one of the most beautiful mixes of sorrow, poetry, and music that I've ever heard. '24 Hour Revenge Therapy' impressed me so much that I am currently in the process of buying any and every Jawbreaker album I can. My only regret is that I missed out on seeing these guys live. I'm sure they put on an oustanding show.